denizerkaradag's review against another edition
Ozymandias hikâyesini ne kadar sevdiysem Kızıl Korsan'ı hiç beğenemedim zorla okudum.
sammi_k's review against another edition
2.0
I was not the biggest fan of this. Dollar Bill at the end was probably the only piece that I really liked.
Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias' story was more of a "During Watchmen" rather than a "Before Watchmen". His years growing up and becoming Ozymandias was very short. Most of the attention was given to his lone crime-fighting ventures (that served minimal purpose) and his cognizance towards the rest of the Watchmen. I enjoyed the foreshadowing in the artwork and that Veidt was chosen as the narrator. Finally, the panel style drove me crazy.
I did not really care much for the Tales of the Black Freighter in Watchmen, and I did not care much for the Crimson Corsair. Personal preference as pirates and at-sea tales don't interest me. The Crimson Corsair is very Poe-esque which I do like, however.
Adrian Veidt/Ozymandias' story was more of a "During Watchmen" rather than a "Before Watchmen". His years growing up and becoming Ozymandias was very short. Most of the attention was given to his lone crime-fighting ventures (that served minimal purpose) and his cognizance towards the rest of the Watchmen. I enjoyed the foreshadowing in the artwork and that Veidt was chosen as the narrator. Finally, the panel style drove me crazy.
I did not really care much for the Tales of the Black Freighter in Watchmen, and I did not care much for the Crimson Corsair. Personal preference as pirates and at-sea tales don't interest me. The Crimson Corsair is very Poe-esque which I do like, however.
jameshowlett's review against another edition
3.0
Ozymandias hikâyesi güzeldi de gerisi ortalamayı aşamamış. Ama tüm kitabın çizimleri çok iyi. Goodreads derecelendirme sistemi için 5 yıldız çok sığ kalıyor, imdb gibi 10 puan üzerinden derecelendirmek daha adil olacak bu tarz arada kalmış kitaplar için.
mindsnare666's review
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
discocrow's review against another edition
3.0
I had heard complaints about this volume from other reviewers. These reviews generally characterize Ozymandias's entry as being nothing more than a monologue, which it essentially is, the Crimson Corsair story useless, and the Dollar Bill story forgettable. If you are ranking everything up against the actual comic these serve as prequels to the point does stand. Otherwise? The book is enjoyable, and the artwork downright breathtaking.
I could easily see any of the Ozymandias covers and variants as being worthy of hanging up on the wall. Crimson Corsair? Utterly gorgeous homage to the old horror comics. Dollar Bill? A perfect imitation/example of what his comic would be. It works, and it is a disservice to these comics to rate them up against what is arguably the best comic book in existence. These are fun. They likely got more people reading Watchmen. What more might you want?
I liked Ozymandias's story and the attempt to unravel his thinking over the years. I liked the scenes between him and Dr. Manhattan in particular, and the fact that Manhattan had to know everything that was being planned being acknowledged. I liked the pieces slowly falling into place, and the beautiful artwork, the chilling ending. It's a fascinating bit of 'what if.'
Crimson Corsair served its place as a follow-up, just as Tales of the Black Freighter served its purpose well. The artwork was visceral and unsettling - I may have cringed in a few places, which is the best admission to give for this sort of comic. At points the story was difficult to follow, but that might have been my reading rather than the actual comic itself.
Dollar Bill? A solid homage to the poor boy. It's a bit of a forgettable story overall, but that is... kind of what Dollar Bill is. I think it was something nice to have since he's glossed over and such a tragic death. The ending was solid.
Overall, this was better than I expected it to be and I'm curious about the rest.
I could easily see any of the Ozymandias covers and variants as being worthy of hanging up on the wall. Crimson Corsair? Utterly gorgeous homage to the old horror comics. Dollar Bill? A perfect imitation/example of what his comic would be. It works, and it is a disservice to these comics to rate them up against what is arguably the best comic book in existence. These are fun. They likely got more people reading Watchmen. What more might you want?
I liked Ozymandias's story and the attempt to unravel his thinking over the years. I liked the scenes between him and Dr. Manhattan in particular, and the fact that Manhattan had to know everything that was being planned being acknowledged. I liked the pieces slowly falling into place, and the beautiful artwork, the chilling ending. It's a fascinating bit of 'what if.'
Crimson Corsair served its place as a follow-up, just as Tales of the Black Freighter served its purpose well. The artwork was visceral and unsettling - I may have cringed in a few places, which is the best admission to give for this sort of comic. At points the story was difficult to follow, but that might have been my reading rather than the actual comic itself.
Dollar Bill? A solid homage to the poor boy. It's a bit of a forgettable story overall, but that is... kind of what Dollar Bill is. I think it was something nice to have since he's glossed over and such a tragic death. The ending was solid.
Overall, this was better than I expected it to be and I'm curious about the rest.
depreydeprey's review against another edition
4.0
While the Crimson Corsair half of this book is equal parts dumb and gross and I could have lived very comfortably without a Dollar Bill stand alone issue I loved Ozymandias. Wein is at the peak of his powers as a story teller and really fleshes out probably the least developed character from the original Watchmen. At the same time Lee's artwork is consistently beautiful and those issues have the best panel designs I've ever seen by a mile and have really changed my perception of what comics are capable of. The shame of this collection is how front loaded it is. The first two thirds is pure eye candy but everything that comes after Ozmandias is just hard to look at and left me flat.
vylotte's review against another edition
3.0
The Ozymandius story was fun, though about what I expected. A little bit of fleshing out from the original. Artwork by the same person who did the Dark Tower trades, so it was very pretty. I didn't like the Crimson Corsair story, it seemed like an excuse to put a lot of awful things on the page. Terrible thing, terrible thing, terrible thing, next page. 4 stars for Ozy, one for CC.
ansl's review against another edition
3.0
Enkel geldig voor het gedeelte van Ozymandias. Mooi gemaakt en interessant om te lezen. 4 sterren.
Dollar Bill-gedeelte: Viel wel mee, 2 sterren.
Crimson Corsair: geen idee, ik heb dat overgeslaan wegens niet erg relevant.
Dollar Bill-gedeelte: Viel wel mee, 2 sterren.
Crimson Corsair: geen idee, ik heb dat overgeslaan wegens niet erg relevant.
etienne02's review against another edition
2.0
I didn't like this volume that much. The Ozymandias part was too much talk and the Crimson Corsair just seem irrelevant.
horationelson's review against another edition
2.0
After having read this, the supposed "best" of the Before Watchmen series (and about my favorite of the Watchmen characters), I completely understand why Alan Moore wanted nothing to do with this.